How does radiography help in diagnosing lameness?

Radiography, commonly known as X-ray imaging, is an indispensable diagnostic tool in modern medicine. It allows for the nonintrusive detection of bone fractures and foreign objects. Radiography is also used to detect other diseased conditions.

How Radiography Works

Radiography utilizes X-rays’ ability to penetrate optically opaque materials. The technique hinges on the differential absorption of X-rays by materials of varying density, composition, and homogeneity. As X-rays pass through the body, they are absorbed differently depending on the densities of the tissues. The radiation emerging from the tissues creates an image of the internal structures on a photographic film or fluorescent screen.

What are the applications of radiography?

X-ray imaging is an indispensable diagnostic tool in modern medicine. Medical radiography is used to detect dental cavities, bone fractures, foreign objects, and diseased conditions such as cancer. Radiography can differentiate between bone and soft tissue.

What are the risks of radiography?

As with other forms of ionizing radiation, X-rays cause biochemical changes in living cells. There are significant health risks associated with exposure to X-rays. Systematic efforts are made to avoid unnecessary exposure to ionizing radiation in medicine, science, and industry.

What are the alternatives to radiography?

A new form of X-ray imaging, computerized axial tomography (CAT scanning), was devised by Godfrey Hounsfield of Great Britain and Allan Cormack of the United States during the 1970s. Another recent technique is positron emission tomography, or PET scanning, which involves the emission of particles of antimatter by compounds injected into the body being scanned.

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